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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26381029">The Chief's Wife</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lin_beifong_stan/pseuds/lin_beifong_stan'>lin_beifong_stan</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, F/F, i might have to update the tags later, implied sex</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:35:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,183</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26381029</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lin_beifong_stan/pseuds/lin_beifong_stan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Chief of Police Lin Beifong keeps her personal life separate from work, and her subordinates begin to wonder about her love life.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lin Beifong &amp; Mako, Lin Beifong/Kya II</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>337</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chief Beifong and Assistant Chief Saikhan were attending a meeting at town hall, which meant that the officers at the station were all gathered around someone’s desk to gossip about their bosses.</p><p>Well, except for Mako. Mako was actually doing the boring part of his job- filling out arrest reports, submitting supply requests, writing up questions like <em>why in spirits name he was supposed to wait for the fire brigade to put out the fire before he, a firebender, was allowed to do his job</em>.</p><p>The young detective was half-listening to what his slacking coworkers were saying in case they began to talk about something of actual importance, but most of his attention was on requesting procedure changes so he could do his job more efficiently.</p><p>“Beifong’s probably just grumpy all the time ‘cause she never gets laid,” one of the senior officers who had been passed over for a promotion several times remarked. “Think about it! The only guy we know she’s actually dated is councilman Tenzin, and that had to have been before a couple of us were even born!”</p><p>“She’d have no trouble finding some poor schmuck to screw,” one of the other cops retorted. “She’s probably smokin’ hot under that damn metalbender uniform she wears all the time.”</p><p>“Wait, isn’t the Chief married?” One of the detectives asked, hunching forward over the desk. “I could have sworn I saw a ring on her finger at that rich lunatic Varrick’s wedding.”</p><p>“What kind of man would marry Lin Beifong?” Another brash officer interrupted. “She’s certainly not the type of obedient lady <em>I’d</em> want at home.”</p><p>“Maybe the boss is into chicks,” a newer recruit suggested.</p><p>If any of them had bothered to look over at Mako, they would’ve seen his brow furrow as he tried to make connections with this possibility.</p><p>“But she likes men,” the same senior officer from before argued. “The ring is probably just a sorry attempt at making people think she isn’t a bitter loaner.”</p><p>“Well, some people like men and women,” the dorky detective from earlier informed. “I believe the term is <em>bisexual</em>. Same-sex marriage isn’t illegal in Republic City, so it’s possible that Chief Beifong could have a wife.”</p><p>The chatter ceased for a moment as none of them thought of a solid reason to disagree with the statement.</p><p>“We could always just check her personnel file,” a waterbending officer remarked.</p><p>Mako waited a few moments after this before sharply standing up and waking over to file away paperwork and prevent the other cops from accessing the drawers of personnel files. He took his time in filing away the paperwork, knowing that their patrol shift was only in a few minutes.</p><p>Beifong and Saikhan returned from their meeting at town hall, causing the officers to scramble for their patrol gear, and Mako hung back to speak with the Beifong.</p><p>“Chief, I know you like to keep your personal life separate from work, but I’m not sure how much longer you’ll be able to do that,” the young detective started. “The other guys were trying to...uh...figure out who you were seeing, and a couple of them didn’t seem to happy when one suggested you might be seeing a woman. Apparently one of them saw a ring on your finger during Varrick’s wedding, and he thinks you’ve got a wife. I didn’t say anything, and they haven’t guessed anyone in particular.”</p><p>Lin nodded stiffly and dismissed him to his patrol shift before mulling over what had been said.</p><p>She was getting closer to retirement, so it was become less and less of a concern that her subordinates might figure out she did, in fact, have a wife.</p><p>Saikhan had been working with Lin for over thirty years and had noticed that she never went to the hospital when injured but always seemed to come back to work fine the next day, so he had pieced together that she was seeing a healer.</p><p>The Assistant Chief had done some harmless digging, figured out that Lin was married to Kya, asked about it, and that had been that.</p><p>The female metalbender hadn’t exactly <em>told</em> Mako that she and Kya were married, but he went to Kya for treatments on his arm, and she wouldn’t be surprised if he had figured it out.</p><p>The kid was a pretty sharp detective, after all.</p><p>Lin realized that she really didn’t care if her officers knew about her marriage or not. She was proud of her wife and the main reason she had never brought it up was that she preferred to keep her work and personal life separate.</p><p>It was protocol to remove any sort of wedding band, necklace, or any other symbolic item before going into work so as to protect loved ones, which meant nobody really would have known she was married unless they went though her personnel file or ran into her and her wife on the street.</p><p>Truthfully, Chief Beifong was just happy that Kya had put up with the bullshit of being married to one of the most well-known, powerful people in the metropolis.</p><p>Their marriage was a bit strained sometimes, more so lately than any other time she could recall, but the new residencies would be up soon, so Kya would be able to return to healing at an actual hospital instead of a dingy tent, and that would make work far less stressful.</p><p>The metalbender glanced over at the clock. Kya’s shift was almost up at the temporary residency camps, and her own had technically ended about half an hour ago.</p><p>“You <em>are</em> allowed to leave at a decent time, Lin,” Saikhan teased, knowing that she was considering leaving. Nobody else was in the office yet, so the formalities were out the window. “I do it all the time.”</p><p>The police chief snorted and bent her coat into her hand by the metal buttons that stuck to its front. She left without another word, deciding to head home so she would be able to surprise Kya with dinner when the waterbender got home.</p><p>Lin began her usual route home, glaring at a few suspicious characters hanging around some old store fronts.</p><p>She could have taken a shorter path back to her apartment, but the extra few minutes taking this route offered her the chance to intimidate the extra couple of thugs out of doing something illegal.</p><p>Every once in a while, including tonight, she would encounter a bold, stupid criminal who would attack her.</p><p>Tonight, it was a young firebender who thought she’d be able to sneak up on the officer.</p><p>With a quick stomp and a flick of her wrists, a wall of earth shot up between her and the fire blast.</p><p>Another few steps and bending movements left the young criminal encased in an earthen mound.</p><p>The patrol unit passing by stopped to handle the arrest, and the morons of course stood in the line of fire of a potential fire breath.</p><p>The Chief shoved her subordinates out of the way and received a burned hand for her troubles.</p><p>“Sorry, boss,” the officers apologized, loading the firebender into the back of their patrol car.</p><p>“It wouldn’t have happened if you morons <em>followed protocol,</em>” she growled, spinning on her heel and heading the rest of the way home. Sharp glares at the passing hoodlums stopped them from doing anything illegal, and a quick glance up at the setting sun told her she probably wouldn’t have time to actually make dinner.</p><p>Instead, she stopped at Narook’s Noodles and picked up dinner to go.</p><p>“There are a couple waterbenders on break right now,” Narook started. “I could have one of them take a look at your hand.”</p><p>“Not necessary,” the chief replied hastily, still hoping to get home before Kya. “But thanks for the offer.”</p><p>She paid for the food, grabbed the bag with her good hand, and trudged the rest of the way home.</p><p>Finally, she arrived at her apartment building and launched herself up the stairwell with her earthbending, landing on the platform designed specifically for those using this method of transportation.</p><p>Lin set the bag of food down next to the door and bent the door open with a flick of her wrist before opening it and grabbing the bag to bring inside.</p><p>Her hand stung when it brushed the counter, and she winced lightly, but continued setting the table.</p><p>It had been a couple weeks since she had gotten to do something nice for her wife, and spirits be damned if she was going to let some stupid burn stop her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>Kya sat at the top of the steps leading to the apartment she shared with her wife.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She loved Lin more than anything else in the world, but their jobs could both be incredibly stressful after a crisis, and it seemed to have been putting a strain on their marriage.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Exhausted from spending the day in the crude healing tent, she stood up, stretched to try soothing the kink in her back, and opened the door to the apartment.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She was pleasantly surprised to find her wife setting the table with food from one of the few authentic Water Tribe restaurants in the city.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The police chief wrapped her wife in a tight hug, pressing her lips to her temple after brushing a stray strand of hair out of the way. “How are you?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Kya sighed softly, hooking her leg around her wife’s and gently pushing her over toward the sink to heal her. “I can feel the heat still coming off of the burn, dear.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Lin maneuvered so she was standing behind the darker skinned woman with her arms around her waist, holding her hand out for her to tend to. “So the woman you’re married to can be a dumbass sometimes when she’s at work. Still, how are you?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The waterbender eased healing water over the burn as she spoke. “The people in the camps are growing restless. Some of the benders are arguing that they should be receiving treatment first, and by that point in the day I really don’t have the energy to deal with those knuckleheads and continue to heal others afterward.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The Chief of Police kissed her lover’s cheek. “Would sending over a couple officers be of any help?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It might be helpful, but it also might cause further unrest,” the healer replied with a sigh, resting her head back against the other woman’s shoulder. “The officers would have to be kind and patient. I know it’s asking for a lot, but if you have any who fit the bill....”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The metalbender held her wife tightly. “I’ll figure something out. Sending Mako would give me an opportunity to catch up on all those damn requests he keeps filing. They all make sense, but it’s still a long process.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The darker-skinned woman smiled softly and began easing the water off of the afflicted hand before turning to face her. “How’s this?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Lin put one arm around her midsection, letting the hand rest on the small of Kya’s back as she brought the other, no longer burned hand up to her beautiful face. “It’s much better now. Thank you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Kya’s hands rested under the officer’s arms, and she kissed her lightly on the lips. “Come on, the food’s going to get cold soon if we don’t eat it.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They made their way over to the food and dug in, leaving the only sounds to be made by the clinking of their chopsticks and the slurping of the food for the first few minutes that they ate.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Something you might find interesting,” The Chief started. “Mako thinks some of my officers are under the impression I have a wife.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The waterbender chuckled lightly. “Well, I have mentioned that I’m married, though I haven’t explicitly told him to whom. Would you prefer I didn’t tell him?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It’s fine if you do,” the metalbender replied. “I’m sure he’ll keep his mouth shut. Even if he doesn’t, It’s not like there’s anything my officers can do other than complain to Saikhan or myself.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The darker-skinned woman swallowed a bite of dumpling. “Is he who I have to thank for getting you home before midnight?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Lin had a look of mock offense. “I had already been considering going home for the day.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The queer couple continued to eat, laughing at whatever ridiculous comment the other had made. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m glad you got dinner,” Kya remarked. “I needed this.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The paler woman reached across the table and rested her hand on top of her wife’s. “I know things have been stressful lately, but it’ll get better when the new residency buildings are finished. Is there anything else that’s been making your work more difficult? I could bring it up at the next meeting. I’m sure I could send more waterbenders over to help, what with there being less need to patrol the spirit wilds.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The healer set down her chopsticks and skirted around the table to hug her wife. “That’s very thoughtful of you, dear. It would be very helpful if you could send over more healers. It’s just me and a couple other volunteers right now, so the breaks have been few and far between.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The police chief kissed her lover on the forehead. “Maybe we could share our lunch breaks once in a while once the staffing issues have been resolved.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The taller woman pulled her toward the couch and pushed her down onto it, flopping down on top of her to cuddle. “That would be nice. Are you not concerned <em>at all </em>about your officers?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“The only ones that would have any issue with it are close to retirement and already jealous that I hold a higher rank than them,” the metalbender said. “I don’t see how making them jealous that I have a more beautiful wife than any of them is going to hurt.” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Kya sighed contently, resting her head on her wife’s chest. “I love you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I love you too,” Lin replied without hesitation. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Do you think we’ll ever get a decent amount of time to ourselves?” The waterbending woman asked, grasping her lover’s hand.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Not as long as I’m Chief of Police and you’re one of the best healers in the world,” the other woman replied with a dry laugh. “As long as I have you, it’ll turn out okay.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Are you getting soft on me, Chief Beifong?” Kya teased, giving her a quick kiss.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I will always be soft for you, Kya,” Lin answered, holding her lover tightly. </p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kya woke up the next morning to find herself in bed with her wife, the sheet draped haphazardly over their naked bodies.</p><p>Well, Lin was technically wearing her wedding ring, since being at home was practically the only time she was allowed to.</p><p>The night before had been spent making passionate love, and she wanted nothing more than to continue laying in bed with the woman.</p><p>Unfortunately, the waterbender had more pressing matters to deal with, such as the seemingly innumerable patients she was to see every day in the beaten up little tent designated for healing.</p><p>Lin grumbled something from beside her and nuzzled her neck. “Good morning, babe. Did you sleep well last night?”</p><p>The older woman laughed softly and put her arms around her waist. “We need to get ready for work, honey. Once this is all resolved, we can take breaks from our jobs and sleep for a week.”</p><p>The metalbender smiled lazily and started pulling herself out of bed to prepare for work when the radio on top of the dresser crackled to life.</p><p>The older couple exchanged looks and Lin briskly walked over to turn up the volume. The radio was set to the emergency broadcast frequency so they wouldn’t be disturbed by chatter unless necessary.</p><p>”-rred. I repeat, a powerful earthquake has destabilized the Katara Memorial Hospital and several of the surrounding buildings,” Shiro Shinobi’s voice crackled through the speaker. “The rest of the city is undamaged, which leads many to believe that benders are to blame for the chaos that ha-“</p><p>The police chief shut off the radio and rushed to get dressed, followed closely by her wife.</p><p>Once they were hastily prepared, they practically ran out the door in their rush to get to the scene.</p><p>Traffic was backed up as far as the eye could see, so Lin used her metal cables to propel herself to the hospital. </p><p>Kya was holding her wife tightly around the waist and shoulders as they swung between buildings. This certainly wasn’t a preferred method of travel for her, but it was most efficient in situations like these.</p><p>They landed inside the police barricades that were in the process of being set up and Lin ran over to the Captain who had been nearby when the earthquake had occurred. </p><p>Kya rushed into the building, looking for patients that hadn’t yet been evacuated.</p><p>”Chief Beifong, thank spirits you’re here!” The Captain exclaimed. “I was just on patrol, and the ground started rumbling. It wasn’t natural, though. It felt like a few earthbenders caused it.”</p><p>”What action has been taken so far, Officer Song?” Lin asked with her usual stern voice.</p><p>”The buildings are being evacuated as we speak, and we’ve been using bending to keep the buildings upright,” the middle-aged man explained.</p><p>The hospital building began to shift, and the two cops were quick to take action. They got into formation and earthen pillars shot out of the ground to keep the building in place.</p><p>Saikhan arrived at the scene, looking equally disheveled, with more emergency forces behind him. </p><p>“It’s not safe to enter the building,” the Chief barked. “Those brigades are <em>not</em> going in.”</p><p>”But, Chief, there are still people inside!” The Captain argued, getting back into formation to help support the weight of the building on the columns. “They could die!”</p><p>”I’m well aware of that,” Lin snapped. “I’m going in to evacuate the building. Saikhan, don’t let anyone else inside, and figure out who in Agni’s name is responsible for this disaster.”</p><p>The master metalbender sprinted into the building, not so much as flinching when foundation began to crumble in front of her.</p><p>The Beifong was acutely aware of the structural integrity of the building. She could sense every piece of earth and metal around her, including the wedding band around her finger that she had neglected to remove that morning in her rush to the scene.</p><p>A group of patients was huddled in what seemed to be the remains of a break room, with an old bender trying his best to keep everyone alive.</p><p>The police chief took a stance and forced the ceiling back into place and directed everyone out to the medical team waiting outside for the patients.</p><p>Even as the building continued to deteriorate around her, she continued deeper into the hospital. This was her job, and she wasn’t leaving until she knew everyone, including her wife, was safely out of the crumbling structure.</p><p>Continuing through the building, she found dozens of patients hiding in their rooms and sent them out to safety.</p><p>The more she felt the hospital deteriorate around her, the more concerned she became that she still hadn’t seen her waterbender.</p><p>Heart began to thud faster against her chest, and she began to grow nervous that something had happened to her wife.</p><p>Lin cleared floor after floor, saving countless patients, before finally locating the one person she had been hoping to find.</p><p>Kya was with more than a dozen severely injured patients, trying to calm them and figure a way to get them out of the building safely.</p><p>The police chief sensed the structure’s integrity and came to the conclusion that she would only be able to get the patients out safely by bending the section of floor they were on down to the ground, which would cause the building to collapse.</p><p>After a quick scan with her seismic senses, she found that the patients her wife was protecting were the last in the building.</p><p>Chief Beifong took a deep breath and got into her stance, letting out a strained groan as she lowered the floor the patients were on.</p><p>The walls around her began to shake, and she tried to bend the earth more quickly.</p><p>Her metalbenders realized what she was doing and hurriedly lowered the patients the rest of the way so healers could tend to them.</p><p>As soon as the patients were clear of the potential damage zone, Lin allowed the building around her to collapse, bending a large slab of stone toward herself in an attempt to protect herself from most of the damage.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kya jumped off the earthen platform, still a few feet off the ground, and turned to help the patients down when the building collapsed.</p>
<p>It was almost as if she was watching in slow motion as the massive structure crumbled like a piece of over-toasted bread.</p>
<p>A scream stuck in her throat, but the panic was clear in her eyes.</p>
<p>Saikhan was by her side in an instant. “Did Chief Beifong make it out with you?”</p>
<p>The waterbender shook her head as the initial shock began to wear off, and she grit her teeth, refusing to believe her wife might be dead. “She’s probably just waiting for a little help. I know she’s a powerful bender, but it’s a big building.”</p>
<p>Once the patients were in the care of the medical team, the earthbending officers began sifting through the rubble, looking for their chief.</p>
<p>Mako draped a blanket over her shoulders and guided her to a space to sit down. “Kya, I know you’re a great healer, but you still need to sit down with the medical team. After they clear you, they might even let you help out.”</p>
<p>”No,” the woman spoke after a long pause, voice hoarse from emotion. “I’m not going to be helping the medical team with the patients. I’m going to need my energy for healing Lin when they get her out of the rubble.”</p>
<p>A pained look flashed across the young firebender’s face. “Look, Chief Beifong is an incredible bender, and she’s probably fine. I understand that thought process, but maybe you should start to prepare yourself for the possibility that an entire building was too much for her to handle.”</p>
<p>”She’s going to be fine,” the traumatized healer whispered harshly. “She’s tired, and she can’t get herself out, but she’s alive, and she’s going to be fine.”</p>
<p>Mako sighed and left to fulfill his other duties, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to get through to someone in the denial stage of grief.</p>
<p>The teams Saikhan had sent out were successful in locating and capturing those responsible for the attack, but there was still the matter of why they had done it and how.</p>
<p>A strange technology had been used, almost as though to mimic bending, and they would need someone like Asami or Varrick to inspect the devices found.</p>
<p>More pieces of the devices were found by officers searching for Lin, but they simply put them aside to continue their task.</p>
<p>The medical team eventually moved the patients to a different location, likely the smaller hospital closer to the edge of the city, but Kya stayed at the scene, waiting for her wife to be found.</p>
<p>Nobody had mentioned it, but anyone who hadn’t noticed the rings on their fingers when they arrived together at the scene, or simply hadn’t put two and two together, certainly shouldn’t have been a detective.</p>
<p>Lunch time rolled around, and a couple non bending officers were dispatched to get food for everyone.</p>
<p>They were quick to return, finally having been given the opportunity to be of significant help, and set the containers out on tables for officers to pick up.</p>
<p>Mako grabbed a box of dumplings for himself and a cup of soup before going to sit next to the distraught older waterbender.</p>
<p>She had wanted to help sift through the rubble, and the Captain charged with explaining that it went against protocol looked as though he feared for his life when he spoke.</p>
<p>The fire bending detective sat down next to Kya and handed her the cup of soup. “It’s been three hours. You need to eat something and keep your strength up for when they find Chief Beifong.”</p>
<p>The waterbender smiled gratefully and accepted the food, staring into the steaming cup before beginning to drink it.</p>
<p>”You and the Chief,” the young detective started. “Are you together?”</p>
<p>Kya nodded with a soft sigh that seemed to be a mix of complex emotions. “It started out as something fun. I travelled too much, and she was busy protecting Republic City. It was like we were dating, but only when we had time. I began to realize that the idea of being with anyone other than Lin disgusted me, so I made a betrothal necklace to keep away suitors. I wasn’t expecting any sort of reaction from her, so I was surprised when she asked me to marry her. I guess when she saw the necklace, she realized she disliked the thought of me being with anyone else as much as I did.”</p>
<p>Mako nodded politely and cleared his throat. “When the earthbending officers find Chief Beifong, you’re obviously going to be the one who tends to her injuries, but where are you going to care for her? This hospital isn’t exactly in working order, and the other one is more of an ER building.”</p>
<p>The healer sighed. “I’ll probably take her back to our apartment and work on making sure she’s stable, then go from there.”</p>
<p>Shouts of surprise and the thundering of massive paws against the road alerted them of Naga’s arrival.</p>
<p>On the polar-bear-dog’s back were Korra, Asami, and Bolin. “We just got word that the building collapsed with people inside of it! What can we do to help?”</p>
<p>The young firebender put on his best officer of the law face, almost in the same manner as Lin, and cleared his throat. “Korra and Bolin, go see if there’s any way you can help the earthbending officers. Asami, I need you to take a look at some tech stuff that was found in the rubble.”</p>
<p>“Wait, where’s Chief Beifong?” The Avatar asked, unaware of the pain that tore through Kya at the mention of her unaccounted-for wife.</p>
<p>When there was no response, she and Bolin exchanged looks and dashed toward the mountains of rubble, already yelling for the chief.</p>
<p>Korra all but ran over an earthbending officer in her attempt to get to the highest vantage point without disturbing what remained of the building.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Bolin was bending exits into the pile, explaining in his childish way that <em>she could just be under the whole thing in a little pocket trying to find a way out</em>.</p>
<p>She didn’t waste her time arguing, instead putting all her energy into trying to find the grumpy older woman she had come to call her friend.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After what had to have been hours of searching, everyone was exhausted and almost prepared to give up. The only thing left driving them was their undying loyalty to the great Lin Beifong.</p><p>Something that could only be described as an explosion by witnesses rocked the side of the mountainous pile of rubble and people were over in an instant to see what had caused it.</p><p>Most assumed that it was another one of those strange devices that Asami was trying to identify, so they were quite shocked to find a pale hand sticking out from under the finer rubble.</p><p>Korra and Bolin quickly bent the stone and earth out of the way to find the Chief of Police, barely conscious and heavily wounded, exhausted from having used her bending to shift so much of the rubble that had been covering her.</p><p>Kya was by her wife’s side faster than you could say <em>sky bison</em>, checking her injuries and brushing fine particles of dust out of her hair. “I need to get her back to my apartment as quick as possible.”</p><p>The Avatar jumped onto Naga’s back and helped Kya secure Lin onto the beast before rocketing down the street, paying no heed to the passerbys.</p><p>Wind whipped in their hair and painfully against their faces before they stopped at the healer’s apartment.</p><p>The waterbender leapt off of the polar-bear-dog with Lin in her arms and Korra followed closely behind, clearing a path and launching them up to the top floor with the earthen platform at the bottom of the stairwell.</p><p>Chief Beifong groaned softly and allowed her head to lull against her wife’s arm. “Wha...?”</p><p>Kya rushed her into the bathroom, setting her down gently in the tub before she began to fill it with water.</p><p>Wordlessly, Korra bent off the Beifong’s metal armor, leaving it in a crumpled heap out of the way. </p><p>“Is there anything else I can do?” The Avatar asked, breaking the painful silence.</p><p>”Let them know that Lin is going to be fine,” the healer replied. “Make sure Tenzin contacts Zaofu, and stress that she’s going to be alright.”</p><p>Korra nodded, watching for a moment as the water began to glow before she left to carry out her next task.</p><p> </p><hr/><p><br/>Kya leaned heavily on the edge of the bathroom counter, trying to catch her breath after an impossibly long session of intensive healing.</p><p>Her wife was passed out in the tub with her head just above the water. The major internal wounds were healed, and the superficial injuries were left unattended to for the time being.</p><p>Kya didn’t have the energy to do that at the moment, but she promised herself she would finish up after she regained some of her strength.</p><p>She left her wife in the bathtub and stumbled out to the bedroom, collapsing on the covers of the bed they shared.</p><p>She felt guilty about sleeping now, but she knew she wouldn’t be of any help to Lin if she was passed out from exhaustion herself.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Kya was awoken by the rays of light on her face as the sun began to set and nearly fell out of the bed in her haste to return to healing her wife.</p><p>She found that Lin was still asleep in the bathtub, almost in the exact same position she had been left in, except for the hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.</p><p>The older woman gently brushed the strands back into place and allowed herself a moment to card her fingers through the short, dark grey hair before getting back to work.</p><p>Chief Beifong mumbled something indecipherable and opened her eyes lazily. </p><p>The waterbender pressed her lips to the injured woman’s forehead. “You’re alright, dear. I’ve got you. You saved everyone.”</p><p>The metalbender grasped the sides of the tub as though in preparation to get out of the body of water, but her wife pushed her back and insisted she have another healing session.</p><p>Lin opened her mouth as though to argue, but was stopped by the ringing of the doorbell.</p><p>As soon as Kya turned to go answer the door, the police chief stepped out of the tub.</p><p>Bumi was at the door with a bag of what smelled like Pema’s cooking. “Hiya, sis! Pema and I were talking, and we figured if Linny’s injuries are half as bad as Bolin said they were, you probably haven’t taken the time to eat something.”</p><p>”I told you not to call me that,” Lin grumbled, leaning against the wall.</p><p>The waterbender sighed and motioned for her brother to enter, closing the door behind him before going to help her wife to a proper seat. “And<em> I told</em> <em>you</em> that you still need another healing session.”</p><p>The Chief waved her had dismissively and gently ran her finger over her wife’s knuckles. “Are you alright?”</p><p>Kya gave her an exasperated look. “You’re the one who got <em>crushed by a building</em>.”</p><p>Bumi cleared the growing tension in the air by setting the hot food in front of them. “Not to intrude, but I promised Pema that I would make sure you guys ate, and I’m pretty sure everyone on the Island is going to be upset if I don’t bring a full update on Lin’s health. Now, let’s get to eating before this amazing food gets cold!”</p><p>To the non-bender’s credit, he held off on asking the questions that would annoy Lin until after she had eaten a decent amount of food.</p><p>The metalbender was quiet, which wasn’t completely out of character for her. She ate her food without argument and made no move to back away when her wife scooted closer.</p><p>Chief Beifong set down her chopsticks when she was done eating and got up as though she was planning to go back to work, and Kya got up after her, trying to be gentle when grabbing her bruised wrist. “Where do you think you’re going?”</p><p>”There was an attack on the city’s main hospital,” the officer replied flatly. “I have to investigate.”</p><p>”Lin, I’m sure the rest of the force can handle the investigation while you recover,” the healer said. “You need to rest. Go to bed if you’re done eating.”</p><p>The Chief looked as though she were going to protest, but the waterbender kissed her softly on the lips and took on a stern tone. “Go to bed, Lin. I’ll deal with everything. You need to rest.”</p><p>The metalbender flared at her wife for a long moment before caving and heading off to the bedroom.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
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    <p>Kya found her wife half asleep in bed with the covers pulled up to her ears.</p><p>She pulled the blanket back just enough to slide in beside her. “I dealt with Bumi and he’s gone to report back to everyone on Air Temple Island. You’re on medical leave for the rest of the week as ordered by President Moon, so don’t try to argue with me on getting back to work.”</p><p>The metalbender grumbled and pulled her close, nuzzling her face into the crook of the older woman’s neck.</p><p>Kya brought her hand to the back of Lin’s head and gently began carding her fingers through her hair while she wrapped her arms around her waist to pull her closer. “Spirits, Lin, I was so worried that you weren’t getting out this time. I’m glad you’re alright.”</p><p>Lin moved so her head was rested next to her wife’s. “I love you, and I’m sorry I scared you like that.”</p><p>The silver haired woman kissed her cheek and pulled the covers tighter around them. “I just want to stay here forever with you.”</p><p>The police chief gently caressed her wife’s beautiful face before lightly kissing her on the lips.</p><p>The healer smiled and kissed her back more firmly, placing a hand on the unbruised area of her lower back. “Honey, you’re still too injured for anything rough, okay?”</p><p>”I didn’t say I was going to do anything other than kiss you,” Lin murmured, hot lips already leaving trails of fiery kisses in their wake as her mouth moved along her collarbone. “But, if you insist, I have no arguments.”</p><p>Kya sighed and moved her hands to rest on the other woman’s jaw. “We shouldn’t do this now. You need to rest. We can fuck later.”</p><p>Lin pouted - yes, <em>pouted</em> - and kissed her wife’s hand. “Alright. As long as I get to see you naked later.”</p><p>The waterbender laughed lightly. “You’ve seen me naked a million times, honey.”</p><p>”And you look even sexier every time,” the officer replied. “It is a sight I will never tire of.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p><br/>Kya woke up early in the afternoon with Lin pressed tightly into her side, deep asleep with her fingers curling into the fabric of her lover’s clothing.</p><p>Quietly, she extracted herself from the wonderful position and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before bending water from the bowl on her nightstand to her hand.</p><p>She set to work on the more superficial injuries; the scrapes, cuts, and bruises that were scattered about her wife’s body.</p><p>With the major wounds handled, she could now focus on the smaller things that caused discomfort more than anything else.</p><p>The waterbender gently brought the glowing water to the chief’s arm to work on a bruise, and hoped that the light emitting from the water wouldn’t wake her.</p><p>The process was slow, but she managed to heal almost all the injuries before Lin began to stir.</p><p>Avatar Aang’s daughter placed a soft kiss on her wife’s temple and eased the healing water onto her facial injuries. “Keep your eyes closed, honey. I’m almost done.”</p><p>The metalbender grumbled and rested her hands on her wife’s backside, the corners of her mouth twitching upward just the tiniest bit when the older woman let out a squeal of surprise and lightly smacked her uninjured shoulder.</p><p>Kya bent the water back into the bowl on her nightstand. “All done.”</p><p>Chief Beifong sat up and put her arms around the older woman, pulling her close to kiss her. “How are you feeling?”</p><p>The waterbender put her arms around her wife’s neck and dipped her head just enough to kiss her for the briefest of moments, allowing her lips to ghost against her lover’s. “I’m glad you’re alright. I don’t know what I would have done if you had....”</p><p>”It’s not something you’ll have to worry about,” Lin promised, pressing her lips to hers.</p><p>The healer ran her fingers through her lover’s hair, dominating and submitting to the kiss in almost equal parts. “I love you, Lin.”</p><p>”I love you too,” the officer reciprocated, holding the older woman close. “Now, about getting to see you naked....”</p><p>”Only if I’m the one in charge this time, Chief,” Kya murmured hotly against her neck. “You just relax, and I’ll take care of you.”</p><p>The master metalbender nodded and closed her eyes, leaning back against the headboard as the woman got to work.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I was going to make this a smut chapter but I wasn’t in the right mood, and so I’ve been sitting on this for a couple days now and I haven’t been able to. Sorry!</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
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    <p>Kya and Lin were sitting together at the dining table, sharing breakfast in the early hours of the morning before the police chief went off to work.</p><p>The water-bender ran her forefinger over the younger woman’s healed knuckles. “I would really rather you stay home and rest a little bit more, dear.”</p><p>The police chief set down the cup of tea that had been occupying her free hand and sighed softly. “I have a duty to this city. I’m sorry I worry you, but I need to keep people safe.”</p><p>”At least try to keep people safe from your desk for these first few days,” the healer implored, reaching her hand forward to cover her wife’s entirely.</p><p>The metalbender shrugged. “I’ll think about it. I should get going soon.”</p><p>She stood up, and the darker-skinned woman rose with her, pulling her into a tight embrace and placing a soft kiss on her lips. “Be safe, honey. I love you.”</p><p>”I love you too, Kya,” the officer murmured, squeezing her hand as she drew away from the warm hug. “I’ll see you for lunch.”</p><p>Savoring the lingering heat from their touch, she left the apartment, which was close enough to the station that you would be able to hear the sirens if something happened, and briskly made her way to her place of employment.</p><p>The officer manning the front desk waved politely and bent the door to the office section of the station open for her.</p><p>As soon as Lin set foot in the office space, anyone who had been slacking quickly got to work. A few officers fell out of their chairs, but fortunately for them, she was in a good enough mood to not issue any sort of formal reprimand.</p><p>Saikhan’s relief upon seeing she had returned was evident on his face, and he handed her a large stack of files. “The case pertaining to the hospital explosion is dealt with, but there’s so much more stuff to do with procedures now! Miss Sato has identified the technology as an entirely new invention, but there could be non-criminal uses for them. There are so many procedure forms, and....”</p><p>Chief Beifong accepted the paperwork. “Take a breath, Saikhan. I’ve got it covered.”</p><p>The two most highly ranked officers had been working together for a long time. In fact, they had gone to the police academy together. Lin had always been the better metal-bender, for obvious reasons, but that didn’t stop them from forging a friendship to help them endure the less glorious parts of the job.</p><p>Keeping the city was important to them both, and they were on the street enough, but at their level, a ridiculous amount of their work was politics, and it was nice to have someone to sit down and have a drink with.</p><p>An officer older than Saikhan but of significantly lower rank, which was mostly due to his backward thinking and inability to keep his mouth shut, raised a brow. “Sai, are you the lucky bastard who’s been nailing Lin?”</p><p>Saikhan pinched his brow. “Officer Lau, for the last time, I am <em>married</em>. Adultery is illegal in Republic City, and participating in a romantic relationship with someone of a different rank is against regulations. You shouldn’t be referring to your superior officers in such a disrespectful manner. To you, I am Assistant Chief Saikhan, and you are to address the boss  as Chief Beifong. If you keep bringing this nonsense up, I <em>will</em> demote you.”</p><p>This lecture continued for several minutes, and the initial reaction of a pale face turned to one of annoyance and borderline disrespect.</p><p>The rest of the station continued their work without interruption. The first few times, everyone stopped to watch, but Officer Lau being reprimanded had become a common occurrence in recent years, and had really lost any interesting factors.</p><p>The two cops returned to their duties, and the next few hours were uneventful.</p><p>When it came lunch time, the officers cleared out of the building quickly to enjoy their break as much as possible.</p><p>As Saikhan was preparing to go retrieve his own mid-day sustenance, he found that Officer Lau was hanging around in the lobby, engaging in what seemed to be a heated conversation.</p><p>Sighing, the Assistant Chief approached the door and took in the situation.</p><p>Lau, that dumbass, was arguing with Kya, who was clearly going in to have lunch with Lin.</p><p>”The Chief doesn’t take visitors, lady,” the underperforming officer said rudely. “But if you’d like to join me for this break, I’d be happy to take you with me.”</p><p>The water-bender scoffed and pushed past the officer, deciding she had enough of his crap, and walked toward the door.</p><p>Saikhan bent the door open and allowed her to pass before going to speak to the officer.</p><p>”Who’s that supposed to be?” The older man asked, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was checking Kya out as she continued down the office area to the Chief.</p><p>The Assistant Chief groaned in annoyance. “Lau, you moron, that’s the Chief’s wife.”</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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